Lots of jobs

The Los Angeles Basin supports payroll 220,840 jobs on the entertainment side of digital media, which includes film production, sound recording and TV broadcasting, among other positions. Another 206,880 jobs are supported on the side with a strong digital media presence, such as data processing and web hosting services, internet publications, broadcasting and software publishing.

Those numbers can’t be combined for a collective total, however, as there is some overlap between the two sides in such industries as graphic design, advertising and commercial photography.

But there is a multiplier effect — and it’s big.

When indirect jobs involving suppliers and vendors are added in, as well as induced jobs that are supported by the household spending of direct payroll workers and others in the supply chain, the total job count for the entertainment side rises to 681,750. For the more digital side, it rises to 523,580 total jobs.

More growth expected

Both sides have seen significant growth. Employment on the entertainment end has grown nearly 20 percent since 2006 and the more digital side has grown by 11.6 percent. The report predicts that over the next five years, there will be more than 4,000 job openings a year for middle-skill digital media and entertainment occupations in the L.A. Basin.

“Part of why we are doing this is we want to lift up some of these under-utilized communities and give them a pathway to those hallmark careers,” said Chris Rico, the LAEDC’s director of digital media and entertainment and industry cluster development. “These are growth occupations, so we are calling on all of these two-year development systems to be more nimble and validate that analysis.”

Rico described under-served communities as lower-income areas where people are often employed in low-paying jobs, such as restaurant workers, dishwashers, maids and cashiers.

“This kind of training will be ongoing,” he said. “Skill requirements change very fast, so everyone has to be a life-long learner. But they don’t necessarily have to go to a four-year institution for that. Many of the two-year programs are more nimble.”

Programs at community colleges

Students completed about 2,500 certificate or degree programs at community colleges throughout in the region in the 2015-2016 academic year. That was 130 more than the previous school year, but it still wasn’t enough to meet future workforce needs in the industry, Rico said.

Prominent Silicon Valley, Seattle and New York firms such as YouTube, Vice and BuzzFeed are also enlarging their footprint in the region as they shift from being content distributors to content creators.

Convergence

“In Santa Monica, we see digital jobs eclipsing retail and tourism jobs, and this is spreading throughout the region,” he said. “But it’s a challenge for schools to stay current and on the leading edge with the skills people need. We’re also seeing a lot of convergence. We’ve seen aerospace companies and entertainment companies converging — maybe around something like drone technology. That has become a key way for filmmakers to make films.”

Dato figures the trend will continue.

“All of these things are happening at an accelerated rate,” he said.

High wages

Friday’s report is the beginning of the center’s program to retool the the region’s career-education programs for the in-demand occupations of tomorrow. And many of those jobs pay well. Employees on the entertainment side of things earn an average of $113,720 a year, the report said, with those in related, digital jobs earning an average of $116,820.

“This report is the compass that the community college system will look at,” LAEDC spokesman Lawren Markle said. “They will provide more feedback and adjust their curriculum and courses. We want students to be aware of these career opportunities, and this is the first step.”

Rico said skilled talent is one the region’s greatest assets.

“This is about everyone in the consortium getting on the same page and not being so territorial,” he said. “The deans at these schools are already looking at making their training more relevant.”

Kevin Smith handles business news and editing for the Southern California News Group, which includes 11 newspapers, websites and social media channels. He covers everything from employment, technology and housing to retail, corporate mergers and business-based apps. Kevin often writes stories that highlight the local impact of trends occurring nationwide. And the focus is always to shed light on why those issues matter to readers in Southern California.

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